


Fox's den

by Verse



Category: Dororo (Anime), Dororo - Osamu Tezuka
Genre: Gen, Slice of Life, Trans Male Character, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 11:33:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17897654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verse/pseuds/Verse
Summary: Demons accept payments of all kinds- money, body parts, secrets.





	Fox's den

**Author's Note:**

> Everytime I see someone whining about Dororo's gender I write more trans shit

Sometimes, Dororo wonders what the _fuck_ is he doing with his life.

"Personally, I recommend the katsudon." The fox at the counter goes off, oblivious to Dororo's mid-life crisis at the tender age of fourteen. "It's good for chillier nights. Plus humans have been running out of meat with the war and all, and that's just sad. Y'all need some more flesh in y'all stomach!"

Dororo nods, dimly aware that every single event in his life had contributed to leading him to conversing with a _fox_ about anything. He's not _unhappy_ with that turn of events, mind you. But some days, he can't help the rising voice at the back of his head screaming that _none of this is normal, how are you even alive, get out get out RUN RUN._

Fate makes you walk the strangest paths. Or Hyakkimaru does, at the very least.

"Uh. Is there anything I can buy with, about, zero coins? _Without_ sacrificing a limb?" Furry demon or not, Dororo can still play the pity card, can't he? It's not like this demon can do much worse than what humans already have. At worst he'll just run, just like he does with human shopkeepers. Dororo is good at running.

But the fox doesn't kick him out. They merely look at him up and down, taking in just how small and frail Dororo looks. Their lips pull back, in something Dororo _thinks_ is a smile. It's hard to tell with the snout.

"No problem! You can pay with secrets if you want. A secret for a meal, sounds fair, right?"

Dororo blinks, taken aback- this is _not_ what he'd expected. But this _is_ a demon, after all. Demons don't obey to the same laws as humans- it would make sense for them to be content with the weirdest things. One of them, after all, is out there chilling with Hyakkimaru's eyes and is perfectly happy about it.

"Depends. What kind of secrets?" He asks, because his parents raised him better than to get himself indebted with monsters. Well, the original warning was about samurais, but Dororo doesn't really see the difference between the two, so it probably applies here too.

The fox waves a hand (paw? It has a thumb, but it's padded.) "Nothing world-shattering. I don't want to get murdered for knowing too much." They laugh at that, which Dororo assumes is just demon humor. "But it still gotta be secret-ish. If more than three people know it then it's cheating."

Well, that sounds pretty doable! And, okay, maybe Dororo ought to be warier, but he's _hungry_ and he wants to bring something good for Hyakkimaru for once, so he thinks he'll be forgiven for going _fuck it_. "I'll take two katsudon then. As for a secret..." He taps his chin. The tattoo on his back comes to mind, but he quickly shakes this idea off. _This_ is way too precious to sell for a simple bowl of warmth. "I'm the only one who knows what my brother's laugh sound like."

The fox's eyes widen, ears twitching as they stir the vegetables in the pan. "That... _is_ a secret." They sound surprised, as if they didn't expect that to be true in the first place. "He must not laugh a lot."

"He doesn't." Dororo has only heard that snort once- at _his_ expense, too, the little shit. But... happiness was a good voice for him. He hopes Hyakkimaru will have more reasons to laugh, in the future- to smile and be _happy_ and _live_. Perhaps with a rice paddy of his own.

Of course, Dororo knows how unlikely that is. But a kid can dream, can't he?

"Okay, second secret..." Hhhh, this smells so good. Warm food smells so good. "My mother used to think I was a girl. Never understood why, though." Now that's a good secret. Something no one else knows, but that Dororo couldn't care less about. No chances of it backfiring. Perfect.

The fox turns their head toward him, their tail waving with... interest? Surprise? This body language is hard to read. Dealing with nonhumans bring up problems Dororo would have never suspected, not gonna lie. "Funny that."

His opinion precisely.

"Okay, here you go. Two katsudon." The fox hands him the two chipped bowls, filled to the brim with steaming pork. "Have a good night, little man. You're welcome by this fox's den anytime!"

Awww yessss. "Thanks!" It's been ridiculously long since the last time Dororo had purchased anything that didn't end up as a scam (usually conducted _by_ him, make no mistake.)

His life has become really, really weird, Dororo thinks. But, as he waves goodbye to the furry shopkeeper, he finds that he doesn't mind all that much.

**Author's Note:**

> I read "heaven official's blessing" recently and the idea of Dororo trading small secrets for food would not leave my mind.  
> edit: enabled comment moderation because some of y'all couldn't stop debating headcanons in the review sections.


End file.
